John 1:1 – The Word was God

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This session considers the relationship between law and gospel in the Christian life. It considers how our understanding of law and gospel affects our approach to evangelism, sanctification, and our understanding of God Himself.

Truth matters, especially when it comes to worship. That ought to be obvious; you can’t properly praise the Lord if you don’t know who He is. Christ Himself was unequivocal on that point—He said true worshippers “must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24, emphasis added).

However, much of modern worship music seems to aim at taming the one true God. Some popular “worship songs” are nothing more than artificial praise offered to a different god altogether. In his book Worship, John MacArthur describes the fallout of the biblical illiteracy that permeates the church today.

“Worship” aims to be as casual and as relaxed as possible, reflecting an easy familiarity with God unbefitting His transcendent majesty. This type of “worship” seems to aim chiefly at making sinners comfortable with the idea of God—purging from our thoughts anything like fear, trembling, reverence, or profound biblical truth. . . .

The decline of true worship in evangelical churches is a troubling sign. It reflects a depreciation of God and a sinful apathy toward His truth among the people of God. Evangelicals have been playing a kind of pop-culture trivial pursuit for decades, and as a result, the evangelical movement has all but lost sight of the glory and grandeur of the One we worship. [1]

During our recent visits to Hillsong Los Angeles, we’ve seen that trend played out in vivid detail. Worse still, we’ve identified some unbiblical characteristics that Hillsong routinely attribute to God.

“No man knows the day or the hour concerning the second coming, not even the Son of man.” Does Jesus know now? (01:01)
What does it mean when we say that Christ had a “reasonable” soul? (06:01)
“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Why does it take blood and not some other substance? (06:53)
Why was Jesus in the grave for only three days? (09:38)
Since the Reformers were fallible sinners, can we trust their view of sola Scriptura? (11:13)
Should church discipline be considered a mark of a true church? (20:31)
Was the Reformation part of the Renaissance and if so, how did it relate to the Enlightenment? (22:55)
When was the church born? (30:45)
Are we experiencing a new kind of reformation in the evangelical church worldwide? (32:18)
There is concern for the millennial generation not embracing biblical Christianity. What is the root cause of this and how should the church respond? (36:07)
What role does our holiness and personal sanctification have in our witness to this darkened world? (41:53)